39 Dinner menu

After her friends left, Ming Er talk to me with apologetic looks in her face

"Hubby, sorry, we missed the last bus because my friends visit"

"It's okay wifey, they are your childhood friends that not seeing you for a long time. Besides, they will help us promote our business. That's great, right?"

"Um, I'm glad hubby can understand that. Let's clean up the table and bring the glass and plates back to kitchen, hubby"

"Okay…oh there's still one piece meringue left, do you want to eat that wifey?"

"Let's eat that together hubby"

She puts half of the meringue in her mouth and left the rest outside her mouth. I immediately understand what she means to eat together. So I bite the other half that left outside her mouth, our tongue sweep clean any left creams in each other mouth. Although there's no cream left in our mouth, we still kissing for a while until we let go of each other mouth.

"Wifey, that's I called new way to eat snack"

"Tee hee~ I'm glad hubby like it"

"Hmm, let's continue to clean this glass and plates, then we prepare the dish for dinner"

We take the glass and plates back to the kitchen, wash it and keep it back in the cupboard.

"Hubby, what do you want to make for dinner?"

"We still have Fu Qi Fei Pian for dinner, but Dan Dan noodles are already eaten clean. I must make something to replace Dandan noodles"

"How about Mapo Tofu hubby? That dish quite popular and many people like that dish"

"Do we have tofu to make it?"

"I think we have some tofu in the refrigerator"

"Alright, let's make it"

Like Ming Er said, mapo tofu is a popular dish in Sichuan and can be made in a short time.

Ingredients

• 450g silken tofu (Szechuan tender lushui tofu can be used)

• 100g minced meat-beef or pork

• ½ tablespoon sesame oil

• 1 and ½ tablespoons Doubanjiang, roughly chopped

• ½ tablespoon fermented black beans (also known as dou-chi and fermented soya beans), roughly chopped

• 1 tablespoon pepper flakes or powder (optional)

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ tablespoon Sichuan pepper for making fresh ground powder

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

• water or broth for braising (400ml)

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

• 2 scallion white, finely chopped

• 4 garlic greens or scallion greens, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 5 ginger slices, finely minced (around 1 teaspoon)

• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional for reducing the spiciness)

Water starch

• 2 and ½ tablespoon water

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Cooking Instructions

1. Add a small pinch of salt and sesame oil to minced beef. Mix well and set aside.

2. Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 and ½ tablespoons of water in a small bowl to make water starch.

3. Cut tofu into square cubes (around 2cms). Bring a large amount of water to a boil and then add a pinch of salt. Slide the tofu in and cook for 1 minute. Move out and drain.

4. Get a wok and heat up around 2 tablespoons of oil, fry the minced meat until crispy. Transfer out beef out and leave the oil in.

5. Fry doubanjiang for 1 minute over a slow fire and then add garlic, scallion white, ginger and fermented black beans to cook for 30 seconds until aroma. Then mix pepper flakes in.

6. Add water to the seasonings and bring to boil over a high fire. Gently slide the tofu cubes. Add light soy sauce and beef. Slow the heat after boiling and then simmer for 6-8 minutes. Then add chopped garlic greens.

7. Stir the water starch and then pour half of the mixture to the simmering pot. Wait for around 30 seconds and then pour the other half. You can slightly taste the tofu and add pinch of salt if not salty enough. By the way, if you feel it is too spicy, add some sugar can milder the taste. But be carefully as the broth is very hot at this point.

8. Transfer out when almost all the seasonings stick to tofu cubes. Sprinkle Szechuan peppercorn powder (to taste)and chopped garlic greens if using.

9. Serve immediately with steamed rice

When we finish making this mapo tofu, my father in law enter the kitchen

"Son, daughter, you're not return yet? No wonder I smell good cooking aroma from the kitchen. Hahaha, good, I still can eat delicious food tonight. Are you done cooking? If so, let's get dinner together"

"Ming Er friends like to have chat with her father, and they already not see each other for long time, and I guess we still can return tomorrow"

"Dad, you wait in dining room, we will bring the dishes there"

"Oh okay, I'll wait in there"

We bring the dishes to dining room after place them in big bowl and big plates so we can eat them together. When we deliver the dishes to the dining room, my father, mother and brother in law already waiting there for our cooking.

"What we have for dinner son?"

My father in law ask tonight menu at me

"Fu Qi Fei Pian, Mapo tofu and Gan Bian Si Ji, father"

"Um, that's good. I still want to eat that lunch menu again and you make it for tonight. Good job son, now let's eat before it gets cold"

We take our seat and start to eat without speaking any words anymore like afraid if we talking, our chewing speed will decrease and the food will be taken by other family members.